Final Fantasy XIII: Fabula Nova Crystallis
by AnimaGM
Summary: A novelization of the game. What do you do when you need to make a choice so grave, millions of lives hang in the balance? Do you choose family above all else or do you give up and wait for the inevitable end to come?


Hello everyone!! This is my first fanfiction so please be kind, rewind! Seriously though...I decided to write a novelization of the game with a few of my own twists here and there. For those of you who have read the 'Episode Zero' novel, I am using it as material for my own story so if you see lots of similarities that is why. I am trying to be as canon as possible for now so that is why I am sticking so close to the preview novel. I am not sure if I will add romance to the story later on (other than the obvious Serah/Snow content) but if people review and say they think it will add something interesting to the story, maybe I will.

Please feel free to comment and critique. I am trying to make this a novel, so chapters will be pretty long. So please give me time to write! I am a busy person and I need my ideas to flow, so it may take me a week or two to add another chapter. Be patient with me and hopefully I'll keep you guys interested!

* * *

**Final Fantasy XIII: Fabula Nova Crystallis**

**Prologue:**

_All the world's a stage,  
And all the men and women merely players;  
They have their exits and their entrances,  
And one man in his time plays many parts,  
His acts being seven ages._

-- William Shakespeare, _As You Like It_

The universe is filled with endless stars and planets. What makes one solar system any different from another? Is it the number of planets linked to that specific quadrant in space? Is it the type of life dwelling on a planet? Perhaps it is the stories each life form tells from its birth to its death. Sentient life is such a mystery and what better way to understand it than to create it and watch it grow.  
The entity made a decision to design a new planet, one that could house a multitude of life forms both sapient and otherwise. As the planet took form, the entity carved out great valleys and filled enormous lakes and oceans. Fields, caverns, and beaches took shape and the world began to look habitable. Plant life began to take form across the many regions of the new and wondrous world. Life began to flourish and the entity created marine life to live amongst the lakes, rivers, and oceans while creating animal life to roam the vast plains and mountains.

The planet was a testament to the entity's will, but as it watched the planet continue to develop it felt that something was missing. There was sentient life, but none that could achieve a potential greater than what it accrued when it was born. Unhappy with this revelation, the entity used a great portion of its power to design human life and alongside it another life form given a purpose to guide the planet and at the same time force humans to reach their unlimited potential. The entity was tired, but it watched its creation with pride as it developed into something beautiful.

To the humans, it named itself Pulse and its guiding hand fal'Cie…

Pulse's kin came to view its creation. A brother and a sister who looked upon the planet with awe, learning about the various forms of life and coming to understand the humans. The brother watched as the humans toiled and fought for every scrap of their existence on the planet. He watched as they fought to survive, never given a moment of respite or peace. He began to pity them and felt that they deserved to be given a chance to reach greater heights in a calmer environment. The brother decided that he would give the humans a better chance at existence where they would require less of a focus on fighting for their survival.

He began to build a satellite planet within the atmosphere of the entity's and he created beings with the specific purpose of maintaining the well being of the satellite world and the people who would inhabit it. The small world was a technological marvel and it was a living paradise for those who would choose to continue their lives there. The brother spoke to the humans living on the lower world and offered them the opportunity at an easier life. The people would have a chance to use their energies to perform activities that don't require them to fight for life and happiness.

To the people, he named himself Lindzei and his satellite Cocoon…

Some of the people chose to leave the lower world in hopes of a more peaceful existence. Those still living on the lower world cried out against the satellite planet, believing Lindzei had lied to the people and deceived them against Pulse who had created the lower world, which they had dubbed Gran Pulse. They knew nothing of the kinship of the two Gods or the fact that there was no ill will between them. The humans' ignorance caused a great battle to erupt between those of Cocoon and those of Pulse.

Lindzei never wanted the humans to fight amongst each other. He built Cocoon to try to save them from the endless fighting. He was not trying to undo what Pulse had achieved with the beautiful planet. Where Pulse believed that only the strongest survive and gave the humans an environment conducive to that belief, Lindzei thought that strength should not be the only measure for survival and constructed the floating planet. The two Gods could no longer appease the people and were tired after using their powers to create a beautiful planet.

Pulse and Lindzei decided that it was now up to their own creations to forge their futures and fight their own battles. The two Gods left their creations to seek out new goals in the great universe, leaving the fal'Cie to guide the humans. However, the fal'Cie felt betrayed, lost without their creators, empty of real purpose. The inhabitants of Gran Pulse swore to tear Cocoon from the sky; feeling as though it was Lindzei's slight that caused their God to vanish. For if Cocoon were removed, Gran Pulse would be beautiful once more and Pulse, maker of the lower world would return to gaze once more upon the splendor of the world.

Those who had chosen to live within the floating paradise simply wanted to defend themselves against the threat; however, the fal'Cie feeling empty without their God, had other motives and continued the fighting with the lower world life forms. The fal'Cie incased within Cocoon waited for the fal'Cie created by Pulse to make l'Cie of the lower world humans; warriors who would fight with the purpose of destroying Cocoon and tearing it from the sky. The war dragged on claiming more and more lives both those of Pulse and Cocoon.

Finally, two humans from Pulse were chosen as l'Cie and given the task of using the power given to them to become a great beast and destroy the satellite planet. The beast revealed itself and quickly attacked the floating world, ripping a large portion of the outer wall of the planet away before attacking the people within. It seemed as though the war would end in Gran Pulse's favor; however, nobody had taken into account Pulse's sister.

After watching humans for such a long time, she pitied them. Both those in Cocoon who had been sheltered from the world below and those from Gran Pulse who's lives were constantly filled with tumultuous chaos. She did not want to see her brother's creation fall for ignorant reasons. Exposing herself to the people of the two worlds, she drained the power from the great beast and put the Pulse l'Cie to sleep along with the fal'Cie who had given them purpose.

To the denizens of both worlds, she named herself Etro…

With the massive damage to Cocoon and the loss of the chosen Pulse l'Cie, the war ended leaving both sides to lick their wounds and attempt to rebuild their societies. The Cocoon fal'Cie gathered refuse from the lower world to fix the damage the l'Cie beast had done to the outer wall of the satellite planet. The denizens of Gran Pulse did not get the same treatment. The Pulse fal'Cie continued with their main purpose of cultivating the world and made l'Cie of many humans to carry out extreme tasks. The humans of Pulse began to fight over the many focused tasks they were given by fal'Cie and civilization began to crumble.

The Goddess pitied those who were chosen by fal'Cie, offering them her own form of hope when all the odds seemed against them; however, even her assistance could not stop the decay of humanity on Pulse. The sheltered people of Cocoon never learned of the fate of their brethren on the lower world and as the time passed, the only knowledge passed down through generations was that of the war and the animosity between the two worlds. The people stayed ignorant of the lower world plight and peace reigned on Cocoon for five centuries. Until the Pulse fal'Cie put to sleep by the Goddess woke and tried to finish what it had started centuries ago…

* * *

Being a soldier in the coastal city of Bodhum was not a boring job by any stretch of the imagination. Some people might think the peaceful seaside town would produce a wave of lazy guards due to a lack of action. Some people were ignorant, believing that peace was just a natural aspect of living on Cocoon. Lightning knew better. Peace was earned. She was patrolling the outskirts of the city and had come across a stray group of monsters. The Bloodbaths, aggressive aquatic marine life, surrounded her in hopes of acquiring an easy meal. She smirked and readied herself, the blade of her sword flashed in the sunlight.

One of the monster tensed before its intended attack and Lightning was ready, cutting a swath to her right through the creature as it tore apart before quickly sweeping in an upward arc to her left, decapitating another of the brood. Another of the pack tried to surprise her from behind; however, the soldier moved at the speed her name implied, impaling the fish-like creature and leaving one more to deal with. As she turned to finish the job she had been sent to complete, a gunshot rang out causing the soldier to jump back and take a defensive stance. Lightning watched as the final monster was torn apart by the bullet from the unknown assailant.

"We're here to help!"

The voice was feminine and was accompanied by the buzzing sound of the airbike she must have been riding. Lightning frowned at the voice, simply feeling that the person was only getting in the way and making her own job that much more difficult. She could tell that the airbike was an older model, rebuilt for a different purpose than a commercial or military bike. As the bike moved into her line of sight, Lightning noticed that the driver was a young, blue-haired man while the woman held a fairly large gun. The young man had a flashy appearance, looking a bit gaudy in his jeweled appearance. The woman had black hair and held the gun with purpose, firing off more rounds as the bike descended.

The soldier turned around and witnessed two more Bloodbaths explode in a mess of green fluid. She raised her eyebrow, but admitted silently to herself the woman wasn't too bad even if she had wasted half her clip. The airbike descended to her level and the driver engaged the breaks, showing the skill of someone who had an idea of how to handle the vehicle.

"Looks like you needed a hand there, soldier."

The woman raised the gun, resting it on her shoulder with a smile. Her top was open in a large V shape and the faint outline of a butterfly tattoo peeked out. A sharp contrast to her fashion-inclined partner, the male and female duo were not a pair Lightning would normally peg as gun fighters. Their clothes got in the way during a proper fight and the gun was not made to fire in quick succession since the model was prone to overheating. With her arms and neck exposed, the woman could badly burn herself. The soldier grew irritated at the thought of the two amateur vigilantes.

"And you might be?" Lightning holstered her weapon, it quickly folded into a gun-like structure before it sheathed within the leather.

"We're NORA."

Lightning crossed her arms at the simple answer. Though she had been hard and direct in her tone of questioning, if it affected the woman she was able to keep it from showing on her face. The woman's eyes turned to regard the soldier, an amused expression playing on her features.

"If you're in the Bodhum Guardian Corps, I'm sure you've heard about us."

The black-haired woman was pretty self-assured which intrigued the soldier, but not enough for her to want to stay and chat.

"Never heard of you," Lightning turned away from the woman and her companion walking away. She heard their voices behind her as she trailed away.

"That's weird…"

"I totally thought we'd gained a bigger reputation these days."

The soldier picked up the pace to distance herself from the whining of the two companions. It was extremely annoying that they believed they were helping after completely interfering with her mission. It was infuriating that they were so proud of their actions and so she had lied to them. She berated herself for lying. She had heard of the small band called NORA, operating out of a beach cafe located on the strip. It was meant to pull in tourists, but usually filled with locals on most nights.

"No obligations, rules, or authority." It exasperated her that she remembered the acronym to their name, now of all times. Lightning dug out her wireless phone from her leg pouch and forced herself to clear her mind of the encounter with the members of NORA. It was more important to call up her superior and inform him the job had been completed. The details could be filled in at a later time.

* * *

The rendezvous point was already occupied by a few of the Guardian Corps soldiers. The Bloodbaths had been in the reported location, which was often rare on missions. Monsters never liked to stay in one place and almost always shied away from commercial and residential areas. However, the outskirts of the city often required nightly patrols to ensure public safety. Though an amateur could dispose of most feral creatures one-on-one, they often traveled in larger groups making it dangerous for the unskilled city dweller. The monsters that traveled alone were the most aggressive and only trained soldiers were sanctioned to dispose of them. That's what Lightning's unit was contracted to do.

The soldiers she passed by offered her words of congratulations on taking care of the pack of amphibious creatures. She made her way towards the Sergeant Major, her superior officer. He wasn't hard to find in the throng of soldiers as his bellowing laughter carried above the din of the other noise in the area.

As Lightning stepped up to greet Sergeant Major Amodar, she frowned at the group he seemed to be in conversation with. She didn't recognize them, but a similar remodeled airbike to the previous one she'd encountered stood close by. The man talking with her superior seemed to be overly friendly. He stood there with confidence and an air of non-chalantce. She couldn't put her finger on what it was that immediately allowed her to recognize that he was the group's leader.

As she stepped up, their eyes locked. Her cold stare bored into his and she noticed a look of suspicious confusion pass across his face. The Sergeant Major perceived the tension and spoke up.

"I see you're back, Commander."

Lightning was used to her superior's joking nature and just sighed at his remark.

"Commander? Having fun at my expense again, Sergeant Major?" she stressed his rank as she spoke. He used to fluster her with his off-hand jokes, but she'd grown thick skin. Now she often gave back what she got.

"Well, you are the raid leader, are you not?" When he continued having fun like this there was no stopping his joke, indifference was all she could muster.

"Who's this you're speaking with?" she gave the other man a sideways glance. He seemed like another lot of trouble to deal with.

"This is NORA, Sergeant." A soldier standing by the group entered the conversation, gesturing to the group. "Have you not heard of them before?"

Lightning's annoyance almost showed on her face, but she collected her thoughts quickly. She didn't want to have to think about them again after just recently emptying them from her thoughts.

"They're a group of young people who have taken up vigilante activities within the city." He continued, assuming the Sergeant's silence was a negative answer to his last question.

The Sergeant Major added his own two cents. "This here is their leader, Snow." She had been right about his position, not that it mattered.

"Hey." His short greeting and slight wave made her grind her teeth in irritation. Had no one taught him and manners?

"This here is the commander of our raid team. She may look young, but she's highly skilled." Amodar pointed to the handle of her weapon protruding from its sheath. "She was given this blade recently. It's called a Blaze Edge. It may mean nothing to you, but us soldier understand the weight it carries very clearly."

"Sergeant Major, we really need not get into the specifics…" She tried to deter him from continuing, but he simply ignored her and pressed on with his explanation.

"Only the most qualified soldiers receive this kind of weapon. I'm trying to say that only those with the abilities to match this quality blade receive one. It's something special." His praise was becoming a little over the top. Lightning had tried to steer him away from the topic, but it was tough to get a word in once Amodar got started.

"Her Blaze Edge is different from other soldiers' too. It's inscribed with a phrase...'White flash, take on my name,' right?" She didn't say anything, but silently corrected him 'Call upon my name' in her own thoughts.

"Please stop there, Sergeant Major." She liked being praised by her superior officer, even if it was a part of some inside joke for him; however, she couldn't take the way Snow was looking at her as Amodar gave his speech and felt it had gone on long enough.

"Fine, I'll stop. You need to lighten up." He chuckled loudly and clapped her on the shoulder. "I think that explains why the Sergeant got the job completed so quickly. I guess you guys didn't have much to do today."

"We have more than just one group of reported monsters to deal with." The leader's cocky attitude did not impress her.

"Is that so?" Amodar didn't seem to mind.

"We just gotta pull 'em outta hiding and then they come running out." Snow smirked, smacking his right fist into his left palm like it was all a game.

"Well, whatever you decide to do, try not to cause too much trouble." The Sergeant Major took everything so lightly. The vigilantes made Lightning scoff. They were rank amateurs, running around with big guns and pretending to be heroes. If she thought it would make a difference, she'd offer her opinion to them. In this case, she could see it would just fall on deaf ears. And she hated wasting her breath.

"With the amount of energy you have, you should join the army." She was shocked to hear her superior's comment, but didn't outwardly show it.

"We don't like being confined by the rules and regulations of society. We free spirits, ya know?" Did this guy constantly say things that were meant to aggravate other people? He was starting to become infuriating. Amodar just laughed it off and gave him a warning about mincing his words, patting snow on the back like they were old friends.

"With the monsters cleaned up, it looks like it's time we got outta here." Snow gestured to the others and they climbed on the airbike.

"You guys should be careful with what you're doing. PSICOM is nothing like us." The soldier standing close by piped up. He was right. PSICOM. Public Safety and Information Command. They were a part of the army filled with elite soldiers. While the Guardian Corps were used to dealing with the public, PSICOM completed their missions unbeknownst to the people. They were a cold, unfeeling, intolerant division of the army. They would disband NORA before the young group even knew what had happened. But the young men and woman didn't know any better and the soldier's words were brushed away with a chuckle and a shake of the head.

"The army's no match for NORA." The leader directed his members, who in turn followed along. The soldier shook his head and gave them a wry smile. "Aren't you being just a little bit too cocky?"

Lightning had simply given up on them. If they wouldn't even listen to simple reason and common sense then it was better to just forget about them altogether. Something was bugging her about the leader though.

"Hold on." She'd followed the burly leader and he'd stopped at her words. "You're name is Snow, correct?"

"Yeah?" He had turned around at he question and cocked his head to the side with a smile.

"So you're the guy who's been mooning after my little sister."

"Mooning?" Even his remarks to her questions upset her.

"Serah Farron." At the sound of her name, Snow's eyes lit up and a large smile overtook his face as he ran back towards her.

"You're the infamous sister she talks about all the time. You do look similar, but your personalities are completely opposite." He was like a kid in a candy store and it unnerved the soldier slightly. "Serah mentioned that you were a soldier and when we first met, I thought you might be her sister. Now I know for sure."

He spoke of Serah with such a casual air it maddened Lightning even more. She was ready to tell him exactly what she thought of him, when he surprised her with his outstretched hand.

"Snow Villiers. Nice to meet you finally!" His hand was overly large and the leather gloves he wore did nothing to decrease their size. Who shakes hands without first removing their gloves? He obviously had never been taught manners as she'd previously expected.

"Leave my sister alone." She coldly ignored his proffered hand since she had no intentions of becoming friendly with him.

"Huh?" He seemed confused by her statement and lack of handshake, like his brain hadn't caught on to her words.

"Just stay away from her." He took back his hand finally picking up on the lack of response from her.

"And if I choose not to?" She wasn't dignifying him with an answer. Lightning turned and began to walk away.

"If I don't listen to you, then what?" She cracked her knuckles and the joints in her neck.

"That would be inadvisable." The soldier had wanted to avoid keeping him away from her sister this way, but when someone doesn't listen there's no other way. Before she could continue her trek back to her superior, the large man spun her around. She was ready to take his head off and he knew it.

"Even if you hit me, I'm not backing down." He smiled at her, which just made her clench her fist tighter. Did he think she couldn't knock him off his feet or was he just too stubborn to listen? Lightning figured both were most likely true with the oaf in front of her. His next statement proved her half right. "I'm hard-headed and I don't just give up that easily."

His smile aggravated her beyond words, but she simply turned and began walking away from him. She disliked him more now than when her sister had first mentioned him. Someone who uses young people to be his subordinates in some joke excuse for an army and places them in situations that are dangerous. He was an inexperienced idiot. Serah said he was interesting. What did she find interesting exactly? At least her sister hadn't said anything about liking him.

"Do you know that man, Sergeant?" The young soldier could see that she was tense. While she had been too far from the group while talking to Snow, they most likely saw the two exchanging words.

"No, I don't." And things were going to stay that way. Lightning wanted nothing more to do with him and she included her sister in those plans.

"I'm taking my leave." She ran a hand through her bangs and left the soldier standing dumbfounded. Today just wasn't her day.

The breeze coming off the ocean felt nice against her skin. Serah wandered along the boardwalk, stretching and leaning her face back to catch the sun. The weather was delightful and it was pleasantly quiet today. During this time of year, most of the tourists were down by the beach swimming and partaking in other activities by the water. The seaside café had been bustling since the morning and her friend Lebreau was scheduled to work. Serah thought about how her friend's cooking would always draw a crowd no matter what the weather.

She smiled and thought of Snow. He must have been tied up at the café, trying to leave but pulled back into one conversation or another by the regulars.

"Serah!" A voice called out to her and she turned around. It was Snow's good friend Gadot, his second in command in NORA. He was speeding along on an airbike by himself and she figured he was just starting his work for the group.

"If you're here, it probably means he's going to be late." She laughed as the airbike stopped beside her. Gadot was of a smaller stature to Snow, but his large frame still often made him seem overbearing. She'd initially been scared of him during their first meeting, but now she knew that he was surprisingly caring under all that muscle. "He dragged into another conversation at the café, am I right?"

"You got it. It looked like it might take a little while too." Serah figured it had to be a customer with a lot of questions. She wondered which of the group had decided to send Gadot as the messenger.

"All right. Thanks for letting me know."

"It was no trouble. I had to head in this direction anyway. I'll see ya around." The large man revved the airbike and took off as Serah waved her goodbye.

The peace and tranquility returned to the area and Serah continued her stroll along the boardwalk. She decided to head to the end of the path where she could watch the birds fish for their dinner while she waited for Snow to arrive. She loved watching the birds dive through the waves and silently wished she had brought food for them to chase after.

The young woman loved everything about the seaside city. The weather, the color of the sky and ocean, the gentle breeze that flitted through the trees ruffling their leaves, even the boardwalk and tiny shops lining the streets. She took it all in reminding herself that she was finishing high school this year and she had already decided to attend university in the Capital City of Eden. Just thinking about leaving made her miss her hometown, but Snow always cheered her up.

"Eden isn't all that far. We can see each other whenever we want." His smile would warm her heart. She knew that they wouldn't be apart forever. Loss was something she knew all too well.

Her father had passed away when she was very young and though death was a foreign concept to her at the time, she was able to grasp the idea that she would never see him again except in old photographs. Her mother's illness had been even more painful as she truly realized what it was like to lose someone forever. Snow understood that pain. He had been brought up in an orphanage along with Gadot, Lebreau, and Yuj. They understood the pain brought on by loss. Sometimes she thought they didn't even realize the empathy they possessed for others.

Her current happiness made the pain of leaving the city that much harder. Being distanced from the people she hung out with everyday, smiled and laughed with, the people she cared about would hurt. Serah chided herself for acting like a spoiled child, mentally smacking herself. Even though Eden wasn't as close as Snow made it sound, they would still be able to see each other. There was no reason for her to have her own private pity party. Besides, she should make the most of the time she still had in her hometown.

Serah had finished beating herself up when she spotted someone lumbering towards her. Snow had arrived sooner than she'd anticipated. He must have finished up his conversation as quickly as he could.

"I'm right here!" She yelled and waved to the hulking giant as he neared. "Did you meet my sister?" She just had to ask. Snow bent over and placed his hands on his knees as he neared her, panting heavily from his jaunt across the boardwalk.

"Yeah, I got a chance to see Lightning. Yesterday, when we met up with the Guardian Corps." He offered his answer once he had caught his breath.

Her eyebrows rose. Now yesterday made more sense to her.

"Why? Did she tell you something about me?"

"She didn't really have to speak to tell me what she was thinking. She was pretty pissed off, which I thought was odd at the time." Even though she had been upset, had it been anyone but Serah and Lightning wouldn't have seemed much different than her usual self. She walled herself off to everyone, too guarded to show her emotion. Serah always knew though. It was like her sister gave off some invisible aura that she could sense.

Serah gave a mirthless laugh at the idea of Snow and Lightning. He'd get himself hurt if he wasn't careful. Her sister and Snow were like two complete opposites. Snow wasn't the type to hide what he was thinking or feeling. He would be honest and open and it would show in everything he did. That's how she knew he was trustworthy. Her sister was completely and utterly different. Snow and Lightning were like night and day, oil and water. Basically, it was a bad combination in anyone's eyes.

"Well, that doesn't bode well for us, does it?" He scratched his head as a sheepish look crossed his features.

Serah was confused at his statement, but quickly realized what he was trying to point out. "Don't worry about it. You can still come over." Lightning's birthday was coming up the next week. She'd forced her sister to take the day off so that the three of them could celebrate it together.

"Can we finally tell her, ya know, that we're together?"

"Yeah, I guess we should. I don't like hiding things from her." She had planned to introduce Snow at her sister's party. Lightning didn't like taking time off for miniscule matters, so Serah had decided to have the birthday party at the same time she brought Snow over to their place. "We can just explain things to her and she'll get it. She really is nice once you get to know her."

Lightning was as tough on other people as she had been on herself. She is stubborn in her decisions, not backing down once she made up her mind about something. However, Serah knew that it was the only way her sister had known how to take care them both after their parents were gone. Her sister had given up the last vestiges of her own childhood so that she could look after Serah. It was easy to remember how strong Lightning had been when their parents had died. Serah would never forget her sister's comfort.

She realized that there was one small thing that her boyfriend and sister had in common: her affection and love. No matter how different the two were, she loved them both.

"Don't worry, we'll get her to understand and accept us." She smiled at his look of skepticism.

"I have a feeling that if she gets angry, it's not going to be good for my health." Snow joked, but Serah tried to keep a serious face even if he had been funny.

"You think that's all she'll do? She'd destroy the entire planet if she got that pissed off."

"Damn…She seems like the type too." He scratched his chin, seemingly deep in thought. Serah couldn't hold in her laughter anymore and giggled profusely at Snow's expression. He joined in after he caught on. She hoped that Lightning's birthday would turn out this way, filled with laughter and fun.

"Oi!" A voice called from behind them as they continued their laughter.

"Hey Maqui! What's going on?" Snow had turned to face the airbike that was approaching.

"Time to go to work. We were able to hack into an army broadcast about monsters in the woods. Looks like NORA is required!"

"Right!" Snow sounded excited as the airbike landed beside him.

"As you wish, boss." Serah bowed to Maqui with a giggle. He was a year younger than her, but she felt like they were equals and good friends.

"Sorry 'bout ruining your date." Maqui laughed and got a playful punch from Snow. They treated each other like brothers.

"Well, it sounds like I should be heading home then." Serah said as she looked to Snow.

"Can't you wait for me to come back? I wanted to go shopping with you." Snow looked a bit sheepish and blushed slightly.

"Why?"

"For Lightning's gift, of course!" He jumped on to the airbike and winked at her.

"Oh right! A birthday present." She felt a little embarrassed that she hadn't caught on in the first place.

"I want it to be from the both of us. You can go on ahead if you'd like and I can meet you at the mall." He revved the bike as Maqui sat down behind him.

"No, that's okay. I'd like to go take a walk around the old vestige. It helps me clear my head." She smiled at him.

"Okay, I'll be back as soon as I'm done," he said as the airbike turned around and began to speed off.

"See you soon. Try not to get hurt!" She waved as they left the boardwalk and sped into the sky.

* * *

Vanille hadn't slept well. Her dreams kept haunting her and she had been crying on and off throughout the night. They weren't memorable dreams, just ones that left her with a cold and empty feeling once she awoke. She thought she had heard someone calling her name causing her to open her eyes and peer around.

"Fang?"

Had she only heard her name called in a dream? Everything seemed to blur together for her these days. Fang had slept beside her last night, but was no longer in the vicinity.

"Fang, where did you go?" She stood up and brushed herself off. She felt as though the weight of the world was on her shoulders and it was just getting heavier as each day passed.

Vanille walked out into the corridor and continued to call her companion's name. Her voice echoed off the walls of the large space and carried throughout the structure. She heard Fang call out from somewhere below. Traveling down the stairs, she hopped onto the elevator to meet the other woman one floor down.

As the elevator doors opened, she felt a breeze waft by her. The wind lifted off the ocean and penetrated the entrance in the hours before the dawn broke.

"You all right?" Fang's question came before she had a chance to posit her own.

"Yeah." She wanted to ask Fang the same thing, but the words just weren't forthcoming. She just made her way to her companion and stood beside her in silence. She could see the ocean and the sky from her current vantage point, but there was no horizon to greet her.

"The sky is very strange here." Fang was looking up. It was still dark out, but she had done the same thing on the first day they had woken up. They had both trekked outside and Fang had looked above them. "It makes me uneasy. Why is there a city floating above me? It doesn't make sense."

Cocoon was of a spherical shape on the outside, but within it housed cities, forests, and oceans with the space separating them being the 'sky'. It was a completely different experience from the sky they had once known.

"The sky isn't the only thing that's weird, even the ocean is abnormal. It doesn't smell of salt." Fang continued her tirade about the floating planet.

"Well, once you're close enough it does." Vanille countered her friend's statement.

"Yeah, but at first we thought it was drinkable and then we find our daily intake of salt. Like the water was trying to trick me." Fang was pouting slightly.

"We did think it was a lake in the beginning."

"Everything here is different and confusing. I can't understand any of it." Fang shook her head and sighed.

"It's like we're dreaming and we don't understand what it is we're dreaming exactly." Vanille felt as though this was all so surreal.

"Well, I have no idea how these people live here."

"If only it were a dream…" Vanille wished she could wake from this nightmare. She wished the past three days were just a bad dream that if she pinched herself, she'd wake up. "It would have been better if we'd woken up today…"

She wanted another chance to do it again. It was childish and naïve, but perhaps if it had been today when they'd awoke things might have turned out differently.

"Things would be the same not matter when we woke up. We have a focus to complete and then we can go home, to Gran Pulse. After all, what else is there for us to do here?" Fang looked over at the younger woman.

"I know. You're right." Vanille shook her head, gave her companion her trademark smile, and nodded her acceptance even if it was all forced. She couldn't help herself from feeling that if they hadn't woken up, things would have definitely been different; that if things had even been slightly different, the pain wouldn't be so unbearable.

"Cheer up, mate. I don't think the fal'Cie ever expected any Focus to be completed in three days. We have time." Fang must have sensed her sadness, knowing it was day four after they'd returned and they were still no closer to completing their Focus. Thinking back on the last three days made Vanille feel sick to her stomach. Every time she remembered, it made her wish they'd never come back. After all, if they had stayed asleep, no one else would have been dragged into this mess.

As the sky began to brighten, Vanille lifted her hand to shield her eyes. She had done the same thing on the first day, standing beside Fang and looking above. Just beyond she glimpsed the strange city, the strange sky and she knew that this would be the start of a strange new beginning.

* * *

Things weren't supposed to turn out like this. There are soldiers all over the place and everything's gone to hell. Sazh reflected on the past week. He remembered when he had first met the little creature; things had been so peaceful. That was eight days past now and it felt like a year's worth of events had happened since then. He was trying to piece everything together as if the outcome would be any different if he managed to figure it all out.

He felt like giving up completely and his tiny companion seemed to mirror his current mood. He thought back to that afternoon, eight days ago.

"Dad, can I have one of those? I want one real bad!" Dajh tugged on the hand that he held and Sazh stopped and turned to look where his son was pointing. Dajh could always get Sazh to listen to him without much of an effort.

"We can get it on our way back from the gorge, okay?" He had brought his son to Euride Gorge to see the fal'Cie. Dajh had been bugging him to see it for a while now.

The best place to see a fal'Cie up close and personal was in Euride Gorge, where Kujata resided. Sazh had looked around for a tour package and had lucked out on the perfect offer. The tour was geared towards families and offered a chance to see the gorge and the seaside town of Bodhum. The flight and hotels were all reserved in the package and they allowed the tourist time to explore the areas on their own time. There was a very low price for kids and it looked like it would be a lot of fun for Dajh.

Now the old pilot was on his way to the power plant from Euride station with his excited and bubbly son skipping away beside him. Dajh was only six and he was curious about all the new things he saw, but he was a good kid. As they made their way into the gorge, the flood of tourists increased and the number of souvenir store vastly multiplied. As they walked along, Sazh knew it was only a matter of time before Dajh stopped him to buy some animal balloon or other toy that caught his eye.

"I don't want to wait, dad. Please can we get it now?" Dakh tugged his hand again and he realized that this was one battle he wasn't going to win. Yet, he was all too happy to give in to his son's excitement.

"I guess we can get it, but just this once." Sazh gave his son a knowing smile. "What exactly do you want, son?"

"I want the yellow one!" Dajh was pointing to the front of a pet shop that was franchised all over Cocoon.

"Let's have a look then." Sazh looked at all the different cages lining the front window. Not only did they sell regular pets like cats and dogs, but they also had feral creatures indigenous to Cocoon that had been domesticated through genetics.

"Dad, the yellow one!" His son was bouncing up and down.

"Not that one, right?" He was staring at a big yellow pudding that kept stretching out its shape and making menacing faces.

"Sir, I think he means this kind of yellow one. Right?" The shopkeeper flapped his hands like wings and chuckled at Dajh.

"Yeah, yeah!" Dajh mimicked the shopkeeper's imitation of a bird and laughed.

"Whenever kids talk about the yellow one, they mean these little guys here." The shopkeeper looked up at Sazh and pointed to a sign about baby chocobos.

"Oh, a chocobo. Thank Etro!" Sazh stopped panicking about the pudding and chuckled. He had no problems with buying a little baby chocobo. "Well, it looks like we'll be taking one of those then."

He saw Dajh's face light up a million watts. His son loved chocobos. He had books about them, pajamas with chocobo prints, and towels with chocobo faces.

"Please come inside so that I can ring up your purchase and you can meet your new friend." The shopkeeper offered his hand to Dajh to lead him into the shop.

"That's okay, I can wait here!" Dajh puffed out his chest, proud he could wait on his own while his father took care of grown up business.

"That's fine, but promise you'll wait right here until I come out." Sazh chuckled, but made sure his son knew he was serious.

Dajh nodded, but gave his father an impish grin. He liked to play a game of hide and seek whenever he waited for his father. He hid in excitement until Sazh found him. The old pilot was used to his son's antics and just shook his head with a smile as he entered the shop.

The shopkeeper opened the cage as he entered and a tiny chocobo flew straight at Sazh.

"It looks like you've made a new pal." The shopkeeper smiled as the tiny bird flew circles around his head.

"It just seems excited to be out of the cage. I can't really tell if it likes me or not." He looked up and met eyes with the chocobo. The little creature cocked its head as though making a decision. He thought it looked cute until it dove straight at his head.

"Ouch!" The chocobo had landed right on top of his head and was currently clawing through his hair. "Stop clawing my head like that!"

He heard a chirp come from the bird and couldn't tell if it meant it as an apology or a retort, but either way it seemed happy in its new home.

He finished paying for the animal and left the shop quickly with it riding on top of his head. He was excited to show Dajh his new friend. As he stepped outside, his son was nowhere to be found. He sighed at the boy's usual antics.

"I guess we're playing hide and seek now, right Dajh?" He pretended to look around for the little boy. Dajh liked to hide in the shadows and laugh as he watched his dad scramble around for him. Sazh knew Dajh liked it when he found him and gave him a big hug. "Okay, I give up! You can come out now."

He hadn't heard the familiar laugh that Dajh usually offered him. He called his son's name again and really began looking around to find the boy. He checked behind the shop and over by the bench just on the other side, but he couldn't find his son. He turned his eyes towards the energy plant not far from where he stood.

"You wouldn't have gone there by yourself, would you?" Sazh ran towards the plant, worried beyond measure about his son. He knew kids grew up and sometimes changed the way they acted, but Dajh should have known better. He was going to give the boy a talk when he found him. Dajh wouldn't be waiting by himself for a little while.

Once he got to the front entrance he turned around and scanned the plaza with the shops once more, just for good measure. He saw children Dajh's age, but most were with their parents and none looked like his son. The only other place his son could have run off to was the plant. Sazh felt the panic in his chest begin to flare and his heart sped up at the thought.

At that moment, the ground shook as though there was an earthquake and in the distance Sazh heard a rush of air being blown from somewhere. All the children were crying and screaming, their parents trying to calm them and keep them safe while looking around for the source of the scare.

"Dajh! Where are you?" Sazh screamed for his son as he ran into the power plant. In his heart he knew something bad had just happened and he was desperate to find the boy. "Answer me, son!"  
He heard an emergency siren blare, cutting through the screams of the crowd both inside and out. The tourists within the plant began to scramble towards the entrance and Sazh felt himself pushed and shoved as he moved further inside against the throng of people.

It took him a few minutes, but he finally managed to get through the panic and heard the staff of the plant calming the others. He was glad that they were finally obtaining some semblance of order, as it would make his search a bit easier.

The ground still trembled and he and smoke was billowing from some place further inside the plant. He didn't know whether there was a fire or an explosion that in turn led to a fire.

"Dajh? Answer my calls, son! Where are you?" He inhaled some of the smoke, but it didn't cause him any distress. It was some type of mist and made the current events seem even stranger.

He continued through the plant and fewer people no passed him by. Most people had probably left when the incident first happened. Maybe Dajh was taken outside along with the rest. Sazh shook his head. Something in his gut told him Dajh was still inside.

"It's your father, Dajh. Speak up if you can hear me!" He called out as he entered the area right in front of the fal'Cie. The mist was thicker in the room he occupied and the hissing of air was louder. He moved further in, checking every nook and cranny for his son until he spotted the familiar jacket Dajh had been wearing.

"Dajh!" He ran to the boy and wrapped him in his arms. His son had been lying on a bench looking as though he was asleep.

"Dad? What happened?" Dajh sounded confused.

"It's okay, son. Everything's fine. Does anything hurt?" He furiously began looking over his son's condition for any cuts or bruises. "What happened here?"

A strange symbol was etched into the back of Dajh's hand. He though maybe it was a sticker the boy had received from the staff, but on closer inspection it was more like a tattoo. Sazh wondered how Dajh could have managed the decoration, but figured it was best to leave the plant and ask the boy about it once they were clear of the building.

He stood up with his son in his arms, ready to leave the plant. He could worry about other things later. He was about to turn to leave when the sound of footsteps could be heard behind him.

"Sir, are you all right?" Someone called out to him. He turned and saw a soldier of the Guardian Corps.

"My son…I think something happened to him." Sazh's brain was running a mile a minute trying to figure out what was going on.

"Did he hurt himself? He doesn't have a concussion, does he?"

"I'm not sure. We got separated earlier and then I found him here." All of the possibilities running through his head were making him sick to his stomach.

The soldier brought out a stretcher and got Sazh to place his son on top as they wheeled it out of the plant. One of the female soldiers looked down at Dajh and tried to comfort him with some kind words. She seemed to be checking his son's vitals and his level of consciousness as they walked along.

"Take him to the first-aid room and keep an eye on him. Sir, would you please follow me?" The soldier nodded to her companions and motioned for Sazh to come with her.

Sazh was glad that they would be okay now that the Guardian Corps were there. He acknowledged the woman's request and followed after her.

The first-aid area was overflowing with tourists who had been hurt in the panic after the initial tremor. When Dajh had been wheeled along on the stretcher he had listened to the soldiers and stayed quiet, but now he was starting to get restless and began to move around.

"Dad, I want—"

"Shhh, son." Sazh took his son's hand and smiled. "You need to rest until the doctor has a chance to look at you and make sure everything is okay."

"All right…" Dajh pouted, but he understood and stopped squirming around. Sazh could hear something going on outside in the hallway. Perhaps someone had been hurt really badly. Before he had a chance to contemplate anymore, the door flung open and a group of soldiers entered the room. They definitely were not Guardian Corps, both their uniforms and demeanor were of a much colder nature.

"This area is now in a state of emergency. Both the plant and the area surrounding Euride Gorge have been placed under PSICOM command. You will listen and follow our orders." The young woman who spoke stood at the front of the group. It was easy to see both her beauty and intelligence as she iterated her commands. Something about her, maybe the glasses she wore, gave her an air of severity.

"All airships leaving Euride station have been grounded and a tent is being set up in the plaza area in front of the plant as a waiting area. If you have been seen and cleared by the doctor, we ask you to head there now. Those who have yet to be seen and the rest of the medical staff will go to the medical tent. The plant is now off-limits to civilians."

The room grew noisy for a moment until the soldier split up and began separating the people into groups. They made everyone form a line before leading everyone out of the plant. Sazh led Dajh to the end of the line headed towards the medical tent, but as they were about to follow the group he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Is your son the child who collapsed in front of Kujata?" The woman with the glasses lowered her voice as she spoke to Sazh. "I am Jihl Nabaat of PSICOM. I need to speak to you about what happened to your son. Please come with me."

"What about my son? Is he going to be all right?" Jihl lifted her finger to her lips in a gesture of silence.

"I know you have questions and you want answers right now, but please follow my request. I will give you the answers, but not here. There are too many people around." Her words were cryptic and caused Sazh's heart to speed up with worry.

What exactly was going on? What did Dajh have to do with the current events? He had so many questions he wanted to shout at the woman, but she was PSICOM. He could tell she held a position of importance and so his only choice was to nod and accept her orders for now.

* * *

He hated evening phone calls. They were always bad news, no matter what. He'd only lived fourteen years, which might make his decision about them a little hasty. However, the present call fell into that category. Hope knew he was right as he stared at his mother's back.

"No, don't worry about it. We're having fun here, just the two of us. Bodhum is really quite beautiful. The hotel has been wonderful and the ocean is stunning here." His father was on the other end of the line. Hope knew it was his father as soon as the phone rang. It was easy to guess the reason for the call. After all, he could see the light fading outside the window as the evening approached.

"I understand…It's really too bad. You would have liked it here." He could tell by the way his mother's voice took on a tone of hurt that his father wouldn't be joining them. The man had most likely been called in to work and his schedule wouldn't allow him to leave tomorrow.

They were supposed to be vacationing in the seaside town together, as a family. The condo was reserved for ten days off of the beachfront. His mother had made plans six months ago to make sure they could all have fun together and relax. She had told him that it had been so long since they had all been together and just let loose.

Hope knew the real truth behind her words though. With his father always busy with work and him now being a teenager and growing up, she felt as though they were all growing further apart. She was trying to find a way to fix that and she figured a vacation away with no set plans would give them all a chance to talk and catch up with each other's lives. It's what she had hoped, at least.  
He hadn't really been looking forward to the vacation at all. At the best of times he didn't really know how to talk to his father and ten days of time with him would just make things even more difficult. It had frustrated him just to think about the whole thing so he felt relieved that his father had to go on a business trip during the vacation. His father had told them he'd be able to meet up with them once it was finished, but Hope knew that was a lie. It was always the same thing with his father. At the last minute, there would be a business emergency or an important meeting. It was one excuse after another. Work was always more important.

"It's fine. We'll have fun here together. There is quite a lot to do around here so we won't be bored." His mother's happy tone was forced and fake. She would always try to act happy when his father made his excuses. He wanted to tell her she really didn't have to bother trying so hard.

She would always forgive his father no matter what excuses he used. She never blamed him for any of his broken promises. She even defended him, making up reasons or excuses for his absence. Hope remembered her telling him of his father's responsibilities or how hard the work he did happened to be. It made him angry and sad that she would never say one word against the man. Yet, for all her love, he never heard his father utter a word of thanks to her.

He knew his father didn't care about her or about him. Hope didn't really know if his mother was too naïve to realize the fact or if she just pretended it wasn't true. It didn't really matter to him either way. It was his fault that he and his mother were the way they were.

"We're going to Euride tomorrow. I heard on the news that the accident has already been cleaned up which means we don't have to change our plans." She was talking about the large accident that had occurred at the energy plant in Euride Gorge three days prior. The entire area had been shut down in the commotion and all tours had been put on hold. It had just been reopened today. The plant had been repaired and Bodhum had been notified that visitation would begin again tomorrow.

"If the fal'Cie decided it was safe, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. We'll be fine." Hope figured his father was just keeping up appearances pretending he cared. He wouldn't dare say that aloud to his mother though. He hated seeing his mother hurt. Even though he was used to his father's behavior, it still hurt him every time.

"He's obviously not coming. I could have told you that days ago." He couldn't help the venom that laced his words as his mother placed the phone back in its cradle.

"It's not his fault. The accident at Euride has the entire Sanctum in an uproar and it's affected your father as well. He said he'd be able to made it for the fireworks though. He promised." She smiled, but he just chuckled bitterly at another promise he knew his father wouldn't keep. He wished his father wouldn't even bother.

"I'd rather just not talk about him. Even when we do see each other, it's the same thing all the time. How's school? How are your friends? Studying hard? He's like a damn…" Hope wanted to say robot, but he saw the sadness welling up in his mother's eyes. "Anyways, you said you needed my help with something, right?"

He wanted to try to lighten the mood again. He loved his mother and he hated getting angry about something he couldn't change.

"Oh, right! Would you help me wash the vegetables?" She began rummaging through the bags on the table.

"Seriously? You want me to wash vegetables?" He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, we are staying in a condo that comes with a kitchen. It would seem a waste to have bothered getting it if we just ate out all the time." The paper bag she'd hoisted out from the others smelled like soil. It wasn't the smell of something that came from a grocery store.

"When did you even have time to buy this stuff?" He took the bag from her and looked inside, making a face.

"I got them this morning. While a certain someone was sleeping the day away, I went to the local market." She had woken up early and gone for a walk while he'd fallen back asleep. She must have bought them then.

"Apparently they use these in that café that's renowned for the dishes they make. Some things they have to get from the grocery store, but these vegetables they grow themselves. Just wash them, please." She gave him a look that told him not to start with her. Grabbing the bag from him, she separated the vegetables giving him something that looked like a potato. She was working on some leafy looking things. This was definitely not something that could be found in one of Palumpolum's grocery stores or anywhere normal, for that matter.

"Why do you always feel the need to buy the weirdest stuff?" He sighed and began to perform the job his mother set out for him. She often liked to try new things. This wasn't the first time.

"Well, they just seemed very interesting. The man that spoke to me was good-looking and fashionable. Once he told me that he worked at the café, I really didn't think it was all that strange. He was with another shorter boy who seemed only a couple of years older than you." She shrugged and continued washing the vegetables in her hands.

"It's weird to grow your own vegetables." Hope made a face as he scrubbed the grime from the skin of the vegetable.

"Well, they looked like they were having fun to me. Maybe it isn't as bad as you seem to think." She finished washing and began drying the greens.

Hope couldn't fathom supporting himself. It didn't make much sense to him. Why work so hard to grow crops when they had food production plants overseen by the fal'Cie? They produced cheap, good quality food. He wasn't sure what the price was for vegetable seeds, but if they were anywhere around the same cost as flower seed growing your own crops couldn't be all that much cheaper. Plus, you had to put in the labor to cultivate the crops.

"As we talked, this other girl showed up and he started talking to her as well. Eventually he just gave me the vegetables for free." She laughed at the look on his face.

"You're terrible." He shook his head and laughed along with her.

"I'm a mom and mom's are tough." She bumped his arm and continued to dry the bug eaten leaves. It was almost as if the earlier phone call had never happened. If only the vacation had just been the two of them from the start then his mother wouldn't have to worry. She could just laugh freely with him and not even think about his father. That was why he hated his father and his stupid evening phone calls. Nothing good ever came of them.

He continued scrubbing away at the vegetables wishing it were just as easy to scrub away at the dirt in his own life.


End file.
